A wondrous “Figaro” opened this weekend at McCaw Hall

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Seattle Opera ends its current season with a brilliant and engrossing production of Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro.”

Although performances of the work are ubiquitous throughout the world that cares about Western music, this opera never seems to tire, the jokes never grow stale. It is not only one of the most ebullient operas ever written, it is also one of the most sublime, reaching deep into the human psyche. The work, start to finish, glows with genius, thanks to Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte.

That said, some performances are better than others for musical and/or dramatic reasons. It is not easy to sustain high comedy for three and one-half hours without something flagging along the way — the voices, the acting, the orchestra. Nothing failed at Seattle Opera. With Dean Williamson’s acute musical insights as the conductor and harpsichordist and stage director Peter Kazaras’ keen dramatic skills, as well as some 15 talented singers, this “Figaro” was afloat with spirit and fire and sometimes just immense pleasure.

The company planned to make this final opera of the current season a major statement with a new production. The faltering economy intervened and the new decor and costumes were dropped in favor of something in hand. Two superb casts plus the conductor and director were already in place. I must admit I wished for a set design that actually fit the dimensions of McCaw Hall  That said, it was attractive enough, never got in the way of anything and set the action appropriately. The costumes, by Deborah Trout, in her local debut, were excellent by reason of color and style. She did better by Figaro and Count Almaviva — what gorgeous clothes, the Count so stylish and Figaro so marvelously flamboyant — than their feminine counterparts, particularly the Countess, who was dressed in a rather drab fashion. With a green, green dress, festooned with what seemed like a trellis of flowers, Marcellina’s  costume became the summation of the character. It helped, of course, to have such a skilled singer/actress, Joyce Castle, do the role.     What has to be noted is that everyone overcame the deficiencies of the set with such aplomb, they became irrelevant after while. There was so much more to observe and hear.

Kazaras is becoming an integral part of Seattle Opera. Known first as a singer and now artistic director of Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program. As he proved in that program, he is a talented director with hundreds of ideas. it would seem, always on a boil in his head. This “Figaro,” which he directed for Young Artists, is testimony to the wealth of his imagination. There are hundreds of details in this “Figaro” that enliven the action. Nothing remains still for long. However, this is not movement for moment’s sake. It has meaning and purpose, if to advance a joke, push the narrative forward or define a character. Kazaras made very few missteps in taste or design, but one stands out: Figaro and Susanna falling to the floor in an erotic embrace at the very end. It was both vulgar and gratuitous.

Period conventions were observed, in the main, in this “Figaro,” and how comfortable they all seemed. What I liked particularly was not only the naturalness of the acting but the humanity it suggested. In an effort to be “new,” productions of “Figaro” can lose their human spirit, which is really the essence of the opera. It is astonishing how cold the music becomes when there is nothing to give a reason for being.

In some ways, Williamson grew up at Seattle Opera, first as a vocal coach and pianist, then founding director of the Young Artists Program. A couple years ago he had spread his conducting wings so far, he no longer had time for it. He is now artistic director and resident conductor of Cleveland Opera. He made his Seattle Opera mainstage debut two years ago with Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffmann,” another brilliant production, and last season, with a different cup of tea, Leoncavallo’s  ‘Pagliacci.” He has excelled in all, none more so than in “Figaro” in which he was exuberant and free-flowing, with a sharp ear to rhythmic essentials and color. Williamson is not a conductor to linger unnecessarily, but he never rushes lyrical passages. His instincts are first-rate. The orchestra plays very well for him.

Seatte Opera used to mount operas in their original language, then English. The casts were  quite different in ability. Speight Jenkins, general director of the company for 25 years, dropped the two-language format but kept the two different casts — well, different principals. Over the years, they have become remarkably even in talent, sometimes with the younger and less experienced singers outdoing their “elders.” The two casts this weekend — Saturday night and Sunday afternoon — were, to the last person, striking in vocal and acting talent. They looked and played the part and could sing as well. Five roles were double cast : Figaro, Susanna, Cherubino, Count Almaviva and the Countess. Only Christine Brandes, Mariusz Kwiecien and Jessica Jones had been on the Seattle Opera stage previously.

Brandes and Kwiecien sang Saturday night. Brandes’ Susanna was pert, vocally agile and  appealing. Kwiecien brought aristocratic sensibility — genuine, not artificial — to the Count as well as looking very chic in his clothes. He  sang with panache, plenty of resonance and a long line. He made a difficult character real and ultimately sympathetic. Twyla Robinson’s Countess, who is given some of the most gorgeous music to sing, has a voluptuous soprano which she put to good use. I liked Oren Gradus. He sings well and makes Figaro a believable, warm personality. You cannot help but like him. The Cherubino of Daniela Sindram was hilarious, more than usual, with all the charm of an obsessive adolescent.

Singing both casts are Castle; Arthur Woodley, a funny Dr. Bartolo; Ted Schmitz, a gifted and limber comic in the double roles of Dr. Bartolo and Don Curzio. For once the Antonio was not overdone. Thank you Kazaras and baritone Barry Johnson. Leena Chopra’s Barbarina was all one could expect, which says a lot.

Nicolas Cavallier’s Figaro is quite different from Gradus. Cavallier belongs more to the aggressively self-possessed school of Figaros. Cavalier looks good but also sings well, with a plush, handsome sound. His Susanna, Elizabeth Caballero, was an effervescent and engaging foil for Figaro. Johannes Mannov does not have the natural elegance of Kwiecien, but he has plenty of masculine swagger and a hefty voice. His Countess, Jessica Jones, sang well. Sarah Castle’s Cherubino has much to recommend it, especially that riveting, beautiful voice.

A special word for the two combinations of sopranos — Countess and Susanna. The voices were so well-matched one it felt for the moment that we had reached some kind of heaven.

The production runs through May 16.

More on “Figaro” here.